Workers refuse to move cargo

Port Oakland anti-war picketline. Photo: Jeff Paterson

For the second time on May 19, longshore workers honored a picket line at the Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) terminal in Port Oakland, Calif. The picket line was called by the Port Action Committee, an ad hoc group of anti-war, labor and community organizations. Three ships sat at the SSA docks and cargo did not move. Since 2003, SSA has received millions in contracts to manage the Umm Qasr ports in Basra, southern Iraq. Umm Qasr is the largest single port system in the country.

Organizers accused American President Lines and SSA of war profiteering. Both are served by Eagle Marine Services, which has a contract to run the Concord Naval Weapons Station, which brings in $975 million annually. Organizers also claim the port does $33 billion in business a year, yet contributes nothing to local schools and social services. Slogans on the picket line included “Stop the Shipping of War Materials to Iraq! Bring the Troops Home Now! Give Them the Health Care They Need! Port Money for Schools and Social Services!”

Excerpted from Jeff Paterson’s May 20 article, “Courage to Resist.”